Finally... A breakthrough

on my pain! Wed the PT was finally able to twist me in a way so that there was no pain shooting down my leg. He showed me how to get into that position when the pain starts up and it worked thru today! I am so excited. It is easy to deal with just lower back pain when I don't have that biting shooting pain going down my leg. Today we "talked" and he let me know that I DO have to have surgery, it's just a matter of WHEN. I just asked that he buy me as much time as possible. My legs feel like jelly most of the time and he is concerned because that is a sign of nerve damage. He will only let it go so long before he tells me, I can't go any longer. Otherwise the damage will be permanent. My lower back is very unstable, so that time frame is uncertain. Some of you wonder why I am waiting. The first 3 (maybe 4) discs are damaged with the first one being the worse (that disc is damaged on both sides). If I have them fused it just puts pressure on the next disc up and then in 2-5 yrs will have to have that one fused and so on, until my spine is completely fused. This is the part I am saying "no" to. Five years ago when I was to have surgery, they said if I could wait "they" were working on an artificial disc. I have seen the disc and need at least 3 of them. Problem: they are not completely approved by the insurance company because they are new. In the next 5-7 yrs if the drs can prove that the artificial discs are more beneficial than fusing, they will pay for them. I don't know that I can wait that long, but am going to try. My next choice is to apply for one. Drs. are looking for certain people to put them in (they've been doing this for 2 yrs already). I may qualify, so that could be an option. I was told 5 yrs ago I needed one and I am a SPORT patient (a group has been following me since I opted out of surgery to see how I am doing). The biggest kicker: the discs are $30,000 EACH! (again, no insurance help). This price is the disc ONLY, no dr, hosp etc bills. Five drs were in on the beginning of this artificial disc and the dr dad went to is one of them, so I would trust him to do the surgery. We don't have that kind of money, so I am doing the PT thing as long as I can and concerned that I will have to make a very difficult decision before I am ready to. Ü

Okay, if you have read this far, you are in for a treat. Look at these AWESOME goodies I rec'd from my friend Melissa!!! We do swaps from time to time and the challenge for this one was to make an altered notebook using 3 different companies. Are these papers gorgeous or what???!! I love all of the goodies! She says the floral paper is BoBunny, the dots are from Daisy Bucket (NEVER heard of them, but LOVE polka dots) and she isn't sure who make the green. I don't know who makes the flower, but it is just beautiful. The whole notebook is so cool. The colors are my favorite and I will cherish all of this! She also altered a frame and added a flower to the candle jar (which smelled sooooo yummy as I opened the box) and then sent me some papers and fun fall stickers to play with. Everything was wrapped in the green tissue paper and tied with the orange ribbons (which I will reuse Ü).

Melissa, thank you bunches and bunches. (you will laugh when you get mine-I used a big flower too. Couldn't believe it when I saw the one you made me-great minds think alike Ü)

Stay tuned for next week. If my back cooperates, I will be posting a tutorial for a tic tac purse. Be sure to have some tic tacs on hand. Ü